If success in the production and commercialisation of clean meat is easily replicable by competitors, one might expect that multiple companies will reach the $1bn milestone in short succession of each other. This may occur if clean meat companies face a common limiting factor, that is removed by way of scientific discovery that is used to lower costs, or by sudden regulatory change.

Moreover, if the clean meat market is expected to be very valuable, then more companies will be trying to succeed, resulting in more competition that may be more beneficial if we want clean meat products to replace a non-trivial portion of existing markets for meat more quickly.

How many months after the first clean meat company is first valued at ≥ $1bn will there be at least three companies valued at a billion dollars or more?

Resolution

This question resolves as the number of months between when credible reporting indicates that a clean meat company is first valued at $1bn or more, and when credible reporting indicates that at least three clean meat companies that exist simultaneously, are valued at $1bn or more.

For a company to qualify as a "clean meat company" at least three articles must be published by credible media organisations in which the company is described as a clean-meat company, using the words "clean meat", "cultured meat" or "in-vitro meat" or "cultivated meat", "cell-based meat", or any variations where "meat" is replaced with a specific meat (e.g. "clean beef"), or any other term that describe meat that is grown primarily or entirely in cell culture, rather than in an animal’s body, or accurate translations in case the reporting is not in English. An example of a qualifying description is the headline "clean-meat company XYZ achieves unicorn status with $1bn dollar valuation". These articles must be published within six months after the company reaching the nominal $1bn valuation.

The article should demonstrate that the term "clean meat" (or suitable synonyms) is used to refer meat that is grown primarily or entirely in cell culture. Hence, an article in which the term "clean meat" is mistakenly used to refer other products, such as plant-based meat (i.e. products made using plant and other non-animal products to look, taste, and feel like meat products) would not be a qualifying report.

Additionally, in the fiscal year in which it reaches the $1bn valuation, the company must generate less than 20% of its valuation in revenue from the sale of products other than clean meat related products, or clean meat related intellectual property.

The resolution of our question [When will the first clean meat company be valued at $1bn or more?] should start the clock for this question.

Company valuation thresholds are here given by 2019 prices, and future valuations will be adjusted for inflation using a commonly used country-specific CPI.

This question is part of the clean meat series of our Animal Welfare forecasting project.

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